1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fishing reels and, more particularly, to a fishing reel having a bail assembly that is selectively movable between cast and retrieve positions and a repositionable trip link through which the bail assembly is moved from the cast position into the retrieve position by an operator.
2. Background Art
In one well know fishing reel construction, a rotor, with a bail assembly thereon, is mounted to a frame for rotation. The bail assembly is movable between cast and retrieve positions. In the cast position, line can freely pay off of a spool. With the bail assembly in the retrieve position, rotation of the rotor causes the bail assembly to wrap line around the spool. The rotor rotation is imparted through an external crank handle.
The bail assembly is changed by the operator between the retrieve position and the cast position by any of a number of different mechanisms. In the simplest form, the user simply grasps the bail assembly and repositions the same through a pivoting action. Triggers are also used which allow the operator to reposition the bail assembly without directly engaging the same. These triggers may be mounted upon the rotor or upon the frame.
The assignee herein has been offering a line of reels, identified as its HYPERCAST.RTM. reels, which utilize a frame-mounted trigger. The operating mechanism is constructed so that the trigger can be operated to reposition the bail assembly with the rotor situated in any rotational position around its axis.
Once the payout of line is effected with the bail assembly in the cast position, the crank handle is operated to rotate the rotor. Through a trip link, this rotation simultaneously causes the bail assembly to be moved from the cast position back into the retrieve position. More specifically, the trip link is constructed so that it resides in a retracted position with the bail assembly in the retrieve position and is driven into an extended position as an incident of the bail assembly moving from the retrieve position into the cast position. A trip link actuator, relative to which the rotor moves, resides in the path of the trip link in the extended position. The trip link actuator has a camming surface which urges the trip link progressively from the extended position toward the retracted position as the rotor is rotated. The trip link in turn drives the bail assembly from the cast position towards the retrieve position, whereupon a force produced by an overcenter bias mechanism drives the bail assembly fully into the retrieve position.
On the above type of reel, the trip link actuator surface potentially interferes with the trip link moving from the retracted position into the extended position. In the absence of an accommodation being made for this condition, actuation of the bail assembly through the trigger may be prohibited in the angular range through which the trip link actuator surface extends. However, ideally, full 360.degree. actuation capability is possible.
To overcome this problem, the assignee herein has devised a trip link mounting system wherein the trip link shifts circumferentially relative to the rotor in the event that it is directed toward the trip link actuating surface as the bail assembly is moved from the retrieve position into the cast position. The current mechanism uses a spring which produces a force against which the trip link can move to avoid interference with the trip link actuator surface. This system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,565, assigned to the assignee herein. While this sytem is effective in reducing the range of rotor positions in which interference between the trip link and trip link actuating surface can occur, the potential for interference through a very small angular range still exists.